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Rangpur Riders’ wicketkeeper and captain Nurul Hasan took a couple of steps back as Nahid Rana was bowling thunderbolts during their Bangladesh Premier League match against Sylhet Strikers at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday. 

Nurul was already on the verge of the advertisement hoarding close to the 30-yard circle, but Nahid was so quick that Nurul had to readjust his position. 

However, Sylhet batters didn’t have that luxury as they were struggling to keep up with the sheer pace of Nahid.

Zakir Hasan lost his stumps; the left-hander was beaten by pace. Paul Stirling tried to pull but couldn’t control the shot and skied it up. Rangpur needed a wicket in that phase of the game; Nahid brought them two in one over. 

Nahid, the new pace sensation of Bangladesh, was too hot to handle for the Sylhet batters on a chilly evening at Mirpur. He took four for 27 and earned his first Player of the Match award in his seven-match T20 career. 

In the first match against Dhaka, Nahid gave away only 11 runs from his three but remained wicketless. But after the match, Rangpur coach Mickey Arthur mentioned that he could be a big weapon for his team, particularly in the middle overs, to take wickets. 

‘He’s very, very exciting,’ Arthur said on Monday. ‘It’s good to watch him. Particularly in the middle overs.’

‘You want to take wickets in middle overs, because that slows the opposition down; otherwise they will beat you towards the back end of the innings. He’s such a big weapon in the middle overs. So yeah, he’s very exciting,’ Arthur added. 

Nahid did take wickets in the middle overs on the following day. Jaker Ali just hit him for a six after picking it up from the slot. Nahid then went short, and Jaker this time couldn’t handle it. That was eventually the game end for Sylhet. 

This is the third season of BPL for the 22-year-old fast bowler who has already grabbed the attention in international cricket. But he’s yet to play in the 20-over format for Bangladesh. 

National team head coach Phil Simmons hinted that he could feature in the T20I series against the West Indies after being named in the squad, but he didn’t feature in the three-match series. 

Now, with his performance in the first two matches, Rangpur certainly will be tempted to play him in as many matches as possible. But the BCB might have one thing or two to say in this matter. 

Nurul, though, said that Nahid is capable of taking care of himself. 

‘All the pacers have their own set-ups on how to maintain themselves,’ said the Rangpur captain after the win against Sylhet.

‘At the same time, he’s trying to deliver what the team wants from him. And he knows very well how to take care of himself.

‘And of course the physio, trainers of the BCB, are monitoring him. It’s not like the old days… Now everyone knows what to do,’ added Nurul.